A role of a conventional steering mechanism in a vehicle is to turn wheels of the vehicle using a steering wheel typically positioned in front of a driver and operated by one or two hands by the driver. Rotation of the steering wheel is typically transferred via a steering column to a wheel-guiding mechanism that points the wheels in a desired direction responsive to the steering wheel rotation. The steering column may comprise universal joints to allow it to deviate from a straight line while maintaining its ability to transfer rotational motion from the steering wheel to the wheel-guiding mechanism. Modern automobiles typically use a rack and pinion wheel-guiding mechanism, in which rotating the steering wheel rotates a pinion gear coupled to a rack, which is a linear gear that meshes with the pinion and converts rotation of the pinion into linear motion of the rack along the transverse axis of the car (side to side motion). Other wheel-guiding mechanisms include the recirculating ball mechanism. A conventional steering mechanism may comprise a power assisted steering (PAS) system, in which hydraulic or electric actuators add controlled energy to the steering mechanism. When using a steering mechanism comprising a PAS, the driver needs to provide less effort in order to turn the steered wheels when driving at typical speeds, and reduce considerably the physical effort necessary to turn the wheels when a vehicle is stopped or moving slowly.
The steering wheel has been a favoured steering device due to a number of advantages, including precision, feedback, and stability. A steering wheel with several turns from lock to lock allows for much more precision for control for a range of turn angles for the front wheel, from making large angle changes when parallel parking to making fine, to small angle changes while speeding down a highway. A steering wheel mechanically coupled to the wheels provides direct mechanical feedback allowing that the driver to “feel” forces affecting the turning of the front wheels. A steering wheel can only be moved by means of rotation, thus it is relatively resistant to registering unintended movement due to inertial motion that a driver experiences relative to the steering wheel during driving.